


Close Watch

by hobbithaver



Category: Interstellar (2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-07
Updated: 2015-11-27
Packaged: 2018-04-03 07:29:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4092364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hobbithaver/pseuds/hobbithaver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cooper meets up with Brand on Edmunds' planet and the two finally let their guards down. They find that their connection is stronger than they ever thought possible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

_Oh I'm sure / No harm will come to you no more / 'Cause I find myself in your hands / Don't you be so hard on yourself_

_"Brand."_

Murph's feeble voice rang through Cooper's ears as if it were a song he couldn't get out of his head. He made his way to the hangar bay with TARS, replaying the scheme he and the machine procured to in order to get to Edmunds' planet over and over in his head about twenty times. Had Cooper actually requested to use a ranger they would not be leaving for another few months, which was unfathomable to the man for two reasons: One, he belonged back in that permissive expanse, and Two, time was more precious than ever to him. To Cooper, time was the great god of the universe. It surpassed all the man-made gods of old, for they were weak in comparison. Time was real. It was observable. It was scary.

With so much on his mind he felt he was bound to mess up, though he kept telling himself otherwise. Years of training to become a pilot had taught him to stay level-headed. Very few things can go wrong if you're level-headed.

As Cooper and TARS rounded the last corner before reaching the hangar bay, Cooper held out his arm in front of the robot, as though to stop him. He ground his teeth at the noisy maneuvering of his companion. "Remind me to get you some oil," he murmured, his words not that of a concerned friend but a frustrated accomplice.

"I can hear better than you, y'know. The maintenance guy just left through the door on the opposite side of the hangar," TARS replied.

Cooper thought he could almost feel the sass radiating from its metallic surface. Despite their obvious differences, the two balanced the other out.

"A little caution…" Cooper whispered, his words trailing off as he double checked the robot's assurance. His heart beat in his throat. If he were caught, the chances of him being able to sneak out again were slim to none.

"That sounds awfully familiar," TARS retorted, "Did the black hole mess up your free-spirit synapses?"

Ignoring the mockery, Cooper entered a code into the keypad next to the hangar bay door and as it slid open, strode through with TARS at his heels, continuing toward the ranger they had previously agreed on. The space suit Cooper donned felt alien to him; it was far easier to operate in than the one he once used on the Endurance - so much so that a part of him worried if it were even safe to travel in. When he reached the ranger he gracefully slid inside of it, whereas his metal friend had no such luck.

"Seventy-two hours to Edmunds'," TARS repeated to Cooper once they were both settled. The top of the ranger clicked shut and the bay opened up to the endless dark sky from which they were found not too long ago.

"You've got control of her, TARS. Wake me up three hours before landing." Cooper knew he could count on the robot. Not to mention the Rangers were now almost fully automated.

"No need to repeat yourself. I heard you the first time twenty-six hours ago."

Cooper dialed a code into the LCD screen attached to the space-suit's arm. He was instantly greeted with the awful smell of gas filling his engineered exoskeleton. It would keep him asleep for the majority of the ride. In his increasingly drowsy state he proposed that he preferred this over the cryo-beds.

"Sleep tight, Coop," TARS wished its friend, although by that point nothing but the thin walls of the ranger and Cooper's unconscious body absorbed its words.


	2. Sleeping Gas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I am *SO* sorry that it took forever to post this. The next chapter will be posted soon, and I promise it will make up for any length this one lacks. I'm taking the time between class and schoolwork to give you an amazing story. Thank you for being patient! <3

“Good morning, Coop.”

Even though TARS had shut off the sleeping gas nearly three hours ago, its effect hadn’t completely left Cooper. He shut his eyes and tried to shake the remaining drowsiness from his body. Every bone felt heavy, and his brain couldn’t quite convince his muscles to lift them.

Upon re-opening his eyes, Cooper saw Edmunds’ planet looming great and rusty in front of them. It looked promising, and he couldn’t help but feel guilty for not trusting Amelia’s intuition. Had they not gone to Mann’s, however, TARS may never have transferred the quantum data to Murph - completely eliminating any chance of Plan A working. The Butterfly Effect.

Cooper glanced at his metallic friend from behind his shoulders. “How long until we land?”

“Three hours, just as you instructed,” TARS replied. “No activity on the Endurance. Brand must be on the surface.”

Cooper half-heartedly nodded, his mind too focused on their future destination. His imagination ran wild of what Amelia’s reaction would be upon his arrival. For all she knew, Cooper was torn apart atom by atom from the space-warping tidal forces of Gargantua: a process known as spaghettification. He wished that the redshifted image of his ranger crossing the event horizon didn’t haunt her as it would have haunted him had he been in her position. He didn’t mean to cause her any pain.

“It will be nice to see Dr Brand and CASE again,” TARS said.

“And to meet Edmunds,” Cooper added.

The rest of the trip was devoid of any superfluous conversation.


End file.
